Certain carbonaceous products of sugar fermentation are seen as replacements for petroleum-derived materials for use as feedstocks for the manufacture of carbon-containing chemicals. One such product is AA. Given such a process for the direct production of substantially pure AA from a DAA-containing fermentation broth or MAA-containing fermentation broth and the possible use of such AA as a source material for the production of HMD, ADN and ADM, it could be helpful to provide process for producing HMD, ADN and ADM and derivatives thereof in an economic and environmentally friendly way.